The last time I got really excited at seeing an Indian player was Sachin Tendulkar: Gavaskar on Umran Malik

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar believes that Team India can hand a debut to seamer Umran Malik as they walk into the third T20 International. India are having a rough time in the five-match T20I series against South Africa. The Men in Blue are 2-0 down in the series and will be playing a do-or-die match on Tuesday.

The first T20 International saw India failing to defend 211 runs, while in the second match, they ended up scoring only 148 runs. In both the games, the bowlers were the major culprits.

Despite the stellar form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India is failing in giving tough competition to the Proteas batters. In the series decider, the Men in Blue are expected to make a crucial change in the bowling unit.

Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar believes India can experiment with the playing XI on Tuesday by including Umran Malik. The 22-year-old grabbed the limelight in the Indian Premier League 2022. The pacer rose to fame by consistently bowling at a speed of over 150 km/h. Gavaskar seemed highly impressed with the young rookie.

"The last time I got really excited at seeing an Indian player was Sachin Tendulkar. And after that I am excited to see Umran Malik. I do believe he should play, but again they might say that let us win the third one and get ourselves in a situation, and then may be they can think about experimenting. It also depends on what the kind of surface they will get at Vizag," Sunil Gavaskar said while speaking on Star Sports.

Gavaskar also conducted a detailed analysis of what went wrong with the Indian bowling unit. The former skipper believes India has no wicket-taking options apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal. In addition, Axar Patel and Avesh Khan are struggling with their line and length, while Harshal is also not among the wickets. 

"The major problem is the fact that they don't have wicket-taking bowlers in this squad apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal. So, you take wickets and then you get the opposition under pressure. So, in both the matches, did anybody look like getting a wicket apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar? He was getting the ball to move. That is the issue which is the reason why a total of 211 was something that they could not defend," Gavaskar concluded. 

Meanwhile, former South African skipper Graeme Smith echoed Sunil Gavaskar's sentiments. Smith believes India needs to have a serious conversation regarding Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik. However, the legend heaped praises on the two young seamers stating that they are both good wicket-taking options. 

"I think they have to be in the conversation at some point in the series. Why rest Bumrah if you are not going to get the answer? Arshdeep and Umran, you want to see them play at some point in the series. You are looking to pick you squad for the World Cup in October so I think they need an opportunity. They need a wicket-taking bowler and Umran Malik is a wicket-taker... we know that. Arshdeeep has been great at the death. India need to know what they are capable of," Graeme Smith added.